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If the Slaughterer had been a symbol of power, the Lustful Buddha was a villain who had harmed ordinary people. Moreover, he was a lecher who had raped weak women.

While everyone praised the Nameless Hero, there was a doubt in the back of their minds that his heroic deeds might have had some political motive.

But after eliminating the Lustful Buddha, people completely discarded such doubts.

They rejoiced and were thrilled at the birth of a new hero.

Even in the inn where I was having dinner now, everyone was talking about me. About the other me, the Nameless Hero.

“If I could just see the hero’s face once, I would have no regrets.”

“Since Alliance Leader Cheon passed away, there hasn’t been anyone worthy of being called a hero in the martial world, but finally one has appeared.”

“Indeed, heroes are born in turbulent times, but it’s been too peaceful lately.”

“Since the hero’s deeds were performed here in Henan Province, he might still be somewhere around here.”

As he said this, one man looked around.

His gaze turned towards me. The man who accidentally made eye contact with me immediately turned his head back to his companions.

He probably thought it couldn’t be this easy to meet the Nameless Hero, but the person he so wanted to see was me.

I was surprised anew at how quickly the rumors spread. Usually, creating a single rumor is not as easy as one might think. It requires a lot of manpower and time.

But the flames of this self-propagating rumor were burning through the martial world in an instant.

When I was the Alliance Leader, I only saw the martial world through Gal Sa-ryang’s reports. Now, seeing and feeling the martial world directly was different from what I had imagined. It’s much more vibrant.

One more thing I felt was that the martial world people were desperately thirsty for the birth of a hero. I was grateful that they remembered me as the last hero, and it was bitter to hear that no hero had been born due to the peace I had brought.

Someone sat down in front of me without asking permission.

“How does it feel? To become a hero?”

Surprisingly, it was the Ma Ryeong-in. He had entered the inn alone, leaving his guards outside.

“It feels surreal. What’s the big deal about killing one measly guy? Do they know I even carefully collected the bounty from the Martial Righteous Alliance?”

“Even if they knew, it wouldn’t change anything. They’ll think you’ll use it for a good cause.”

“That’s ridiculous.”

“Heroes must meet the right timing. Even if you killed the same guy, if you had done it at a different time, no one would have recognized it.”

“I suppose so.”

“Anyway, we should have a celebratory drink. Since you don’t drink alone, I’ll be your company.”

He called the waiter and ordered alcohol.

“Thanks to you, I’ve become a hero and made money, but why have you shown me such kindness?”

“It’s a gift.”

“A gift?”

“A gift to commemorate making a new friend. But why do you look like that?”

“Can I speak honestly?”

“Go ahead.”

“All of this feels like a trap for me. It’s strange that someone as great as you would show such kindness to me.”

“You lack faith in people.”

“In all my life, no one who told me to trust them was truly trustworthy.”

“Trust me one last time.”

He held out his cup, but I didn’t toast with him and drank alone.

The Ma Ryeong-in, who had left the inn, got into the carriage that was waiting.

The person waiting inside was Joo Do-chi. As soon as he got in the carriage, the Ma Ryeong-in said,

“Make one more big move for that guy. Do you have any suitable cases?”

“There are some, but…”

“Use the biggest one. If possible, give him plenty of money too.”

“Yes.”

Although he answered readily, Joo Do-chi couldn’t suppress his rising suspicion.

“I’m sorry, but I must ask this. What exactly is your reason for doing all this for that guy?”

“Are you that curious?”

“Yes, I’m so curious I can’t sleep.”

“You’ll find out soon enough, so just get some good sleep. Now, let’s depart.”

I was standing at the window of my second-floor room in the inn, looking down at the carriage.

As the carriage started moving, the Ma Ryeong-in stuck his head out of the window. He waved at me in the window with a friendly smile.

I lightly bowed my head and then ostentatiously closed the curtain. If Joo Do-chi had seen it, he would have been angry, thinking, ‘That insolent bastard!’

Yet there was a reason for acting this way.

The more distance I kept, the less suspicion there would be about me.

***

Early the next day, Joo Do-chi came to see me.

I was in the middle of eating breakfast on the first floor of the inn.

“If you haven’t eaten, join me.”

“I’ll pass.”

“They say eating a hearty breakfast helps you live longer.”

“Do you want to live long?”

“Of course. Otherwise, why would I be tied to you people?”

“Another mission has come down.”

“What?”

My chopsticks, which had been busy moving between dishes, stopped for the first time.

“I haven’t even spent the bounty from catching that lecher yet.”

“You can spend it all later. The reward this time is hefty too.”

I glared at him. Joo Do-chi’s attitude was as if to say, ‘So what are you going to do about it?’

“Fine, I understand making the hated guy work, but why are you making me earn money? It’s not like you’ve taken in an orphan to beg. Are you planning to kill me suddenly and take it all?”

“Do you think we’d do this for that petty money?”

“Then why are you doing this!”

Of course, it was clear that Joo Do-chi didn’t know about it either. He must be frustrated that he can’t tell me.

“Here, take this.”

On the paper he handed over, the name and location of a villain, and the evil deeds he had committed were written.

With this, I could clearly understand the nature of their organization.

Selfish bastards!

They have information about these villains’ activities but don’t catch them. It means they only move when it benefits their organization.

You guys are the real villains, even more than those written here.

***

The one I caught this time was a former assassin named Jong Baek[1], who had settled in Henan and was doing assassination work.

While assassins are said to be abundant in the martial world, this guy’s problem was that he was cruel enough to kill not only untrained people but even children if paid enough.

Only when the fight was over and he was about to die did he realize something about me.

“…Who exactly are you?”

Jong Baek asked with difficulty, exhaling his last bit of vitality.

“They commonly call me the Nameless Hero in the martial world.”

“…How did you find my hiding place?”

When I arrived at his dwelling, he had sensed my approach and was hiding behind a secret wall prepared inside the house.

How did I know he was behind the wall?

During my time as the Alliance Leader, assassins were the enemies I encountered most frequently. Especially when we were at war with the Sima Heretical Path, there was a time when assassins came every other day.

Sometimes assassins came morning and evening on the same day. I’m truly someone who could write a report on assassins if asked.

“…You, were you an assassin?”

Those were the last words he left before dying.

He probably sensed it throughout our fight with an assassin’s unique intuition. That I thoroughly understood him and assassins.

***

This time, the Xiping branch of the Martial Righteous Alliance in Henan Province was thrown into an uproar.

The Nameless Hero, whom they had only heard about in rumors, had now brought in the corpse of the terrifying assassin Jong Baek. The bounty on him was a whopping nine thousand taels.

With this incident, rumors about the Nameless Hero spread through the martial world once again.

The end for villains!

The Nameless Hero became the hope of ordinary people and the dream of children learning martial arts.

Even without the Ma Ryeong-in, I had been planning to make the Nameless One a hero of the martial world. Thanks to him, I was easily achieving my goal.

However, I still didn’t know the Ma Ryeong-in’s purpose. In terms of Go, I was giving him the first move now; I needed to find that first move.

Several more days passed like that.

During that time, two watchers died by my hand. There were days when watchers were attached, and days when there were none at all. Neither the Ma Ryeong-in nor Joo Do-chi showed any reaction to my killing of the watchers.

They and I were getting used to each other.

The journey that started by following the secret code was getting longer, but I wasn’t worried about those waiting for me.

Gwang-du might be worried that I haven’t returned, but basically, they were all wise people. They would be carrying out their own tasks.

Over the past few days, the place I targeted to gather information was the Zhengzhou Martial Arts Academy.

The Zhengzhou Martial Arts Academy was their base in Henan Province. There might be several branches or safe houses throughout Henan Province, but I was certain this was the central base.

First of all, the scale of the academy was quite large. There were at least two hundred staff members, and while there might be some regular staff, a considerable number would be their subordinates.

Moreover, since the estate with the underground secret room was here in Zhengzhou, they would have needed to establish their main base here to support it.

Anyway, the Zhengzhou Martial Arts Academy was much less guarded compared to the estate.

Joo Do-chi usually stayed there. On days when there were no watchers, I infiltrated the Zhengzhou Martial Arts Academy to monitor Joo Do-chi. I had found a secret space where I could hear conversations in his office.

On the day the Ma Ryeong-in visited the Western Spear Manor and Eastern Sword Clan, he also stopped here for about a quarter of an hour.

In other words, it meant he might come here again. If I could hear a conversation between just the two of them, I might find some clues.

After monitoring Joo Do-chi like this for several days, finally, the Ma Ryeong-in visited the Zhengzhou Martial Arts Academy.

After some conversation, they mentioned me.

“What’s Nameless doing?”

“Just living as usual. Going to brothels, drinking. Wandering around too.”

“Find a way to make him even more famous.”

“Young Master, please tell me now. Why are you showing such kindness to that guy?”

“Are you that curious?”

“Yes, I really want to know.”

“Then your question is wrong. Because I’m not showing kindness to him.”

Finally, the Ma Ryeong-in revealed the fact he hadn’t told until now.

“Do you know what’s happening here in Zhengzhou next month?”

“Next month? Isn’t the Golden Grand Banquet[2] being held?”

“That’s right.”

The Golden Grand Banquet was a big event for merchants held once a year by the Central Plains Merchants’ Union. From wealthy merchants owning several large trading companies to small-scale merchants. It was truly a festival for all merchants of the Central Plains.

The Golden Grand Banquet lasts for ten days, and not only merchants but also the Martial Righteous Alliance Leader and key figures of the Martial Righteous Alliance, as well as famous martial arts masters of the gangho, all participate.

“Big brother will come then too.”

Joo Do-chi could understand that the ‘big brother’ the Ma Ryeong-in was referring to meant Ma Cheol-gun.

Blinking for a moment, Joo Do-chi was startled.

“D-Don’t tell me?”

He was so surprised he almost covered his own mouth.

In contrast to his shock, the Ma Ryeong-in calmly said,

“We’ll send Nameless to assassinate big brother.”

Joo Do-chi swallowed hard in astonishment, and the Ma Ryeong-in’s explanation continued.

“Nameless is now called a hero in the martial world. What do you think will happen if such a person kills our big brother?”

Now it seemed clear what the Ma Ryeong-in’s true intention was.

In the succession struggle, the Ma Ryeong-in’s biggest enemy was undoubtedly Ma Cheol-gun. He was popular within the Heavenly Blade Sect, and most people in the martial world predicted he would become the successor.

But what if he dies?

The Ma Ryeong-in would become the strongest successor candidate.

Based on what’s known externally, the rest are evaluated similarly, but the Ma Ryeong-in was a completely different person from what was known externally.

Of course, it can’t be said that there aren’t cases where the outside and inside are different among other successors, but in Joo Do-chi’s view, no one could match the Ma Ryeong-in.

“Nameless is not only extremely skilled, but his internal energy has also increased dramatically. What do you think? Isn’t it worth a try?”

“But can he kill Ma Cheol-gun?”

Ma Cheol-gun’s martial arts skills were outstanding among the successors. Moreover, there were many great masters around him.

“Even if the assassination fails, it doesn’t matter.”

“What?”

“The fact that the Nameless Hero tried to kill him, that fact is important. People will think, why did that righteous hero try to kill big brother? Hasn’t he done something bad behind the scenes?”

“Ah!”

Now he could understand the Ma Ryeong-in’s deep intention.

“But what if he’s caught and confesses everything?”

“He will die on the day he attempts the assassination.”

“What?”

“Don’t we have that?”

At the word ‘that,’ Joo Do-chi got goosebumps.

Probably, the Ma Ryeong-in had planned all this when he received Joo Do-chi’s report that day they first met, saying he was bringing someone called the Nameless Hero. Joo Do-chi greatly admired his plan.

The Ma Ryeong-in said with a smile of satisfaction,

“So let’s make our hero bigger and stronger.”

I had been listening to all of their conversation.

So this was truly the reason?

I had been inwardly speculating like this. That they would use me as a sacrifice for some kind of test. Like that man who died bleeding from his seven apertures that day.

But for this reason? I really couldn’t have imagined it.

What exactly does ‘that’ mean, which the Ma Ryeong-in mentioned? Could it be related to the underground secret rooms in the estate?

A smile of satisfaction appeared on my lips as I regained the initiative I had lost. Once you know, you can prepare.

Alright, I’ll gladly accept your kindness.